The BBC Television Shakespeare poster

TV series · 1978

The BBC Television Shakespeare

First aired 3 December 1978 Drama / Comedy TMDB ↗

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.

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John Gielgud
as Chorus
74
John Gielgud
as John of Gaunt
74
Esmond Knight
as Old Capulet
72
Arthur Hewlett
as Adam
71
Celia Johnson
as Nurse
69
Laurence Naismith
as Prince Escalus
69
Joseph O'Conor
as Friar Laurence
68
Michael Hordern
as Capulet
67
Michael Hordern
as Prospero
67
Michael Hordern
as Lafeu
67
Wendy Hiller
as Duchess of York
66
John Paul
as Montague
57
Robert Brown
as Sir Walter Blunt
57
Robert Brown
as Earl of Pembroke
57
Robert Hardy
as Sir Toby Belch
53
Richard Pasco
as Brutus
52
Keith Michell
as Marc Antony
52
Richard Johnson
as Cymbeline
51
Charles Gray
as Duke of York
50
Charles Gray
as Julius Caesar
50
Trevor Peacock
as Feste
47
David Swift
as Duke of Northumberland
47
Claire Bloom
as Gertrude
47
Prunella Scales
as Mistress Page
46
Annette Crosbie
as Maria
44
Brian Glover
as Bottom
44
James Bolam
as Touchstone
43
John Stride
as Henry VIII
42
David Buck
as Earl of Westmoreland
42
Nicol Williamson
as Macbeth
42
Derek Jacobi
as Richard II
40
Derek Jacobi
as Hamlet
40
Kenneth Colley
as Duke Vincentio
40
David Collings
as Cassius
38
Ronald Pickup
as Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
38
John Castle
as Earl of Salisbury
38
Jon Finch
as King Henry the Fourth
37
Charles Keating
as Duke of Aumerle
37
Sarah Badel
as Katherina
35
Roger Daltrey
as Dromio of Ephesus / Dromio of Syracuse
34
Helen Mirren
as Imogen
33
Jane Lapotaire
as Lady Macbeth
33
Jeffrey Holland
as William
32
Alan Rickman
as Tybalt
32
Paul Jesson
32
Tim Pigott-Smith
as Angelo
32
Richard Griffiths
as Sir John Falstaff
31
Michael Kitchen
as Antipholus of Ephesus / Antipholus of Syracuse
30
Anthony Andrews
as Mercutio
30
Sinéad Cusack
as Olivia
30
David Gwillim
as Henry, Prince of Wales
29
David Gwillim
as King Henry the Fifth
29
Zoë Wanamaker
29
Robert Lindsay
as Fabian
28
Kate Nelligan
as Isabella
28
Patrick Ryecart
as Romeo
26
Amanda Redman
as Marina
21
Phil Daniels
as Puck
20
Rebecca Saire
as Juliet
15
Mike Gwilym
as Pericles
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